Mufakahat al-Khullan fi Hawadith al-Zaman
- Author died
- 953 AH
- Editions
- Dār al-Kutub al-‘Ilmīyah
Mufakahat al-Khullan fi Hawadith al-Zaman (The Amusements of Companions on the Events of Time) is a multi-volume historical chronicle focusing on Damascus and Bilad al-Sham by the Damascene historian and jurist Ibn Tulun (d. 953 AH / 1546 CE) .
Scope and Content
The chronicle documents political, administrative, and social developments in the Levant, particularly Damascus, during the late Mamluk era and its transition to Ottoman rule . Alongside Ibn Iyas’s Bada'i' al-Zuhur, it is regarded by historians as one of the two primary contemporary Arabic sources for studying Egypt and the Levant at the close of the Mamluk Sultanate .
The work follows an annalistic structure, recording events chronologically by year, month, and day . In addition to political affairs and military conflicts, Ibn Tulun incorporates local social events, judicial matters, and biographical notices of scholars and contemporaries . In the events of the year 919 AH, for instance, he records and critically evaluates claims regarding purported prophetic relics in Damascus, such as a cup and staff, documenting that they belonged instead to Layth ibn Sa'd .
Manuscripts and Editions
Manuscripts of Mufakahat al-Khullan are preserved in several archives, including the British Museum in London . The book served as a major reference for later Damascene historians and biographers, including Muhammad Kamal al-Din al-Ghazzi in al-Na't al-Akmal and Ibn al-Imad .
The text has been published in multiple modern editions:
- Edited by Muhammad Mustafa in two volumes, published by al-Mu'assasa al-Misriyya al-'Amma and Dar Ihya' al-Kutub al-'Arabiyya in Cairo (1381–1384 AH / 1961–1964 CE) .
- Edited by Ahmad Ibish under the title Hawadith Dimashq al-Yawmiyya min Mufakahat al-Khullan, published in Damascus by Dar al-Awa'il (2002) .
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